Portion of Dresden Avenue closed

Hillslide slippage forces city into temporary move

Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert

jgilbert@reviewonline.com

This mudslide has forced the temporary closure of Dresden Avenue in East Liverpool as officials begin the task of clearing the hillside. (Photo by Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert)

EAST LIVERPOOL – In what seems to be a continuing saga for the city, a portion of Dresden Avenue was temporarily closed Tuesday after a section of hill side began to slide onto the roadway.

The slide occurred on private property above the section of roadway where there are no homes, just past a drive-through but before a row of homes, meaning no houses are at risk from the sliding hillside, according to officials.

However, Service-Safety Director Brian Allen pointed out, “How do I get a fire truck to that house?” pointing to the home at the other side of the road closure.

Even with mutual aid from the Liverpool Township Volunteer Fire Department, those trucks would have to travel some distance, Mayor Ryan Stovall pointed out as they surveyed the damage.

Allen said he was called at 8:30 a.m. about the slide and said street department workers were on the scene when a section began to slide, causing a large tree to fall.

It was determined the slide began at the top of the hill near Drain Street, with pools of water lying at the top of the slide and a waterfall coming down the hill. Water department personnel tested the water for the presence of fluoride and determined it was not from a broken water line, Allen reported.

The owner of the property was identified as William Faulks, according to Stovall, who said he was attempting to make contact with him.

Pusateri Excavating was called to the scene and is expected to begin clearing the hillside this morning. Allen said even though the city does not own the property, “to protect our road, we have to take care of it.”

Meanwhile, the city street department was using its new mini-excavator, just delivered that morning, to clear the ditch along that stretch of Dresden Avenue to help the flow of water.